Dog with a Bone

Charleston: Changed Again

“I have been changed. I am not the same person I was before. Over time, over many experiences, good and bad, I have grown in understanding, awareness and compassion. I have found a deeper sense of peace. I have come to appreciate the importance of love.” Bishop Steven Charleston, Daily Facebook page

I know we are called to articulate our truth as best we can, but then I know we must let it go. I try to turn the situation over, to give up the bone. This is hard because the life approach we have been taught has been like a dog with a bone about issues we are passionate about. Never the less, we still admire people who are like that faithful Border Collie with a bone about issues they believe in. We also know the cost to our own body, and mind, and soul for holding on to that bone. There is often no peace. Love is hard to find. The arteries tighten up. When we lose, we think we must try harder. When we win, we are empowered to keep doing it better.

This is my hope for change. We will no longer see life as win or lose. We have a part. We are to step out of our comfort zone and speak out in love and try to make a difference. More and more we know that for every cross there is a resurrection. God brings about the resurrection, rolls away the stone. Our job is to keep looking and listening for every possible sign of love and the resurrection.

We will have set backs in giving up this control, thinking we are in charge of the resurrection, but stark situations where we see where we are not in charge will bring us back to the truth over and over again. Believing that we have control of situations in our lives and in the world involving others is fake news, a fantasy, but there is this sweet voice that whispers in ours ears that keeps telling us we have such good ideas and we need to be a strong woman or man and get our agenda done.

Trying to be connected to something greater than ourselves teaches us that a strong person may be one who pauses and perhaps prays and listens before she speaks as articulately as she can, does the best she can, and then gives up the results to God, who may have a better view of the situation than she does.

Amazing. Is it possible that there may be a better plan than our own!

Joanna joannaseibert.com

Traveling Inward

Traveling inward

“How quickly the days clatter by as we age, like a train rushing to some unknown station.. Sit back and look to the vision within: the unexplored rooms of your heart, the open ground of your creativity, the hidden dimensions of your faith. Reflect on the reason for your travel and turn time to the will of your spirit. Sit back and look to the vision within, for when you go deeper, you go slower.” Steven Charleston, Daily Facebook Emails

John Sanford’s, The Kingdom Within, The Inner Meanings of Jesus’ Sayings is often one of the first books to recommend for people wanting to go on an inner journey. As his title suggests, Sanford tells us that the kingdom of God is really within us. Sanford was a Jungian analyst and an Episcopal priest who was one of the first to apply depth psychology to Jesus’ sayings, relating Christianity to depth psychology, discussing personality types, feminine and masculine aspects of personalities, the struggle between the spiritual and the physical, being aware of our own egocentricities, projections, the struggle to become conscious, our identification with our outer mask, all as each of these experiences relate to the teachings of Jesus.

Sanford talks extensively about the problem of evil and sin in the world, reminding us that Jesus himself had little to say about the sins of the flesh. He was more concerned about the deadlier sins of the spirit brought on by a lack of awareness that causes us to “miss the mark.” Sanford reminds us that often when we feel deep hate in our hearts for our enemies, we are projecting onto them what we really hate in ourselves. This takes some time in inner work, often with a friend to discern, but the spiritual peace is well worth it. It also is a discernment that we will be called to do over and over again.

We have many guides along the way. The final hope is at some time to see the Christ, the God within each other. A therapist can help us see that shadow side of ourselves, and our spiritual director keeps reminding us to look for the God, the Christ in our neighbor. This most often happens when we begin to stay connected to the Christ within ourselves.

Joanna Joannaseibert.com

night time prayers

Vespers

“It is bad enough to cope with illness or worry during the day, but at night the hurts just seem to intensify as the darkness grows. Which is why I am inviting everyone to join me in the practice of vespers. Monks and nuns from many traditions keep regular hours of prayer. They sanctify day and night. Vespers is an evening prayer, a time to make the darkening hours holy. As night comes, let us pray for all those who will need help getting through it. Let our vesper prayer be a light for them to see.” Steven Charleston, Facebook page, September 25, 2018

St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Salem, Oregon

Serendipity can become a sign for us to listen more intently about what is going on in our lives. A call to evening prayer has been a message in my life recently from many avenues. It is beginning to get my attention. Morning prayer has become more of a routine most of my life, but I usually do not remember to say evening prayers until I am almost asleep, and they mostly consist of a brief review of the day with a few sprinkles of gratitude thrown in for good measure.

The rector of our church, Danny Schieffler, has asked our new Daughters of the King chapter to be more present at evening prayer on week days at our church. Our Community of Hope Retreat leader, Brother Michael Gallagher, OSB, almost the next day reminded us of having regular evening prayers as well as morning prayers. We are having a program at our church by Tom Elliott on the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius. The next day he talked about the evening examin and how important it is in following this tradition. This morning I hear from Bishop Steven Charleston about night time prayers, especially for ourselves and others who need to be reminded of the presence of the Love of God when the world becomes dark.

My favorite evening prayers before bedtime are the prayers of Compline (Book of Common Prayer, BCP, p. 127). Many years ago, friends came to our house or we went to theirs to say this brief service together. How did we fit that time into our day? Were we less busy or more intentional?

My experience is that night can be more frightening for those we are alone and those in any kind of pain. The stimuli of the day that keep us living our lives outward slow down as darkness silently creeps in. At evening we feel the pull of the less familiar inward life. We do not know our paths on the inner life and easily can be frightened, but saying night prayers with others for a while can remind us of Love’s continued presence with us and within us.

“Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield to joyous; and all for your love’s sake.” BCP, p. 134.

Joanna. Joannaseibert.com